outsource

American  

[aut-sawrs, -sohrs] / ˈaʊtˌsɔrs, -ˌsoʊrs /

verb (used with object)

outsourced, outsourcing

1. (of a company or organization) to purchase (goods) or subcontract (services) from an outside supplier or source.

2. to contract out (jobs, services, etc.).

   a small business that outsources bookkeeping to an accounting firm.

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verb (used without object)

outsourced, outsourcing

1. to obtain goods or services from an outside source.

   U.S. companies who outsource from China.

outsource British  

/ ˌaʊtˈsɔːs /

verb

1. to subcontract (work) to another company

2. to buy in (components for a product) rather than manufacture them

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Other Word Forms

• outsourcing
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of outsource

1975–80

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Explanation

To outsource is to hire someone outside a company to do work. A newspaper might outsource some of its stories, paying freelance writers instead of using its full-time staff. When a business outsources, they either employ someone who freelances or works for another company, or they buy supplies from outside the company. Either way, it often involves paying less for the labor or goods, and many companies save money by outsourcing from other countries. This business term is relatively new, emerging in the 1980s from the verb source, "obtain from a particular source."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outsource outsourced outsourcing

In the case of culture, when is it OK to outsource to technology, and when is it not?

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

But generative AI has vastly broadened the range of tasks that humans can successfully outsource.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

The company has chosen to outsource a portion of its AI capabilities through a partnership with Google Gemini.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

Back then they were making, at most, 10 a day; now they outsource manufacturing to China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

“We will never outsource to India,” said Neeleman.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Pam Brown from Durham was an NHS patient who underwent a mastectomy in 2022 at Spire Hospital in Washington, where one of the outsourced private clinics was based.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

It employs many of Wolfsburg’s roughly 130,000 residents on terms negotiated by the works council, including service functions such as kitchen staff that have long been outsourced at other companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

An investigation found that Boeing had improperly fitted the outsourced fuselage and door plug parts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Because springing for and maintaining a fleet of its own is costly, ICE has historically outsourced its deportation flights to private companies or used military and Coast Guard vessels.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

In a decade, you will assume that your accountant has outsourced the basic preparation of your tax returns—if not more.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

But your robot shopper doesn’t watch TV, and if you’re outsourcing the shopping to it, you are not giving Amazon the same chance to harvest dollars from you as you walk through the digital store.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Automation, outsourcing and foreign competition were already reshaping blue-collar America when U.S. manufacturing jobs peaked in 1979.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Ludlam told the inquest that by the end of 2022 the health board was no longer dealing with a backlog in part due to outsourcing, which he said they were still using today.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

But she might care if he’s outsourcing his part of a team project to it, leaving her feeling uncertain about his ability to present his work in front of a client next week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Like any explosion of modernity, outsourcing is challenging traditional norms and ways of life.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

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